Flavorful Synonym Rolls w/ FREEBIE Worksheet

Synonyms! Synonyms! Synonyms! We love synonyms after today! Check out these Flavorful Synonym Rolls we made! Be sure to check out how I taught the lesson and grab up the worksheet FREEBIE below.

 

I introduced synonyms today by reading: Pitch and Throw, Grasp and Know: What is a Synonym? My kiddos love this series so of course they enjoyed this book.

 



After discussing synonyms, I introduced a thesaurus to the class. We compared and contrasted the dictionary and a thesaurus. Next, it was time for us to be bakers. Each student was given a cinnamon roll with a word in the middle. It was each student's job to find flavorful synonyms in their iThesaurus on the iPad  to complete their Flavorful Synonym Rolls. Just add a little glitter and you've baked up some Synonym Rolls.

Want to use the worksheet in your classroom? Grab it up HERE! Enjoy!

***I made the cinnamon rolls out of construction paper. It was easy peasy! :)

Those Angry VERBS w/ FREEBIE Worksheet

Well it's that time of year again...time to teach nouns. Well my absolute favorite way to reintroduce verbs to 2nd graders is using Angry Birds (considering verbs were introduced to them in 1st grade). I saw the idea on Pinterest and fell in love with it.

I opened the lesson up by reading: To Root, to Toot, Parachute: What is a verb?
This book is awesome. My kiddos were completely engaged during this book. The illustrations are great and it makes verbs real to each student.

After a class discussion about verbs, I decided each student earned their time to play Angry Birds on the iPads. They were so excited. They had one guideline: Tell the teacher what verbs are used during the game. However, they could not use the fly or flew (Too easy).

Next, they were instructed to complete their Angry Verb worksheet. Directions consisted of:
-Define a verb.
-Write one sentence stating what the Angry Bird did.
-Highlight the verb in the sentence.
-Color the Angry Bird.

Last, early finisher got on Study Island on the iPad and completed a verb review assignment that I posted.

Check Out These Angry VERBS!!!!

Like the worksheets? Well I made it one afternoon and feel free to grab it up and use it with your kiddos. Coloring Page HERE! Construction Paper Add-ons HERE!

We Loved Celebrating America Recycles Day!

America Recycles Day was on November 18th and we received a treat. Mrs. Rearley came out and did an America Recycles Day presentation for us. My kiddos loved it!

Mrs. Rearley opened with reading a fabulous book: Here Comes the Garbage Barge. If you haven't read it, it is worth checking out! I love the story as do my students! Here is a cover preview.

After the story, we learned about the 3 R's: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. We even got to play a game that helped us distinguish which items we can reduce, reuse, and recycle in our everyday lives.

 

 Lastly, Mrs. Rearley introduced us to the 3 R's song on YouTube! We love it! Check out the song:

Well that sums up how we celebrated America Recycles Day! A big thank you goes to Mrs. Rearley for dressing up and helping us celebrate America Recycles Day!!

TCE 2nd Graders Visit Hinesville Fire Department

There's nothing like a taking a field trip in the middle of the week!! WooHoo! Well after celebrating Fire Prevention Month in October, we decided to take a visit to the Hinesville Fire Department.
Check out our photos below and see all the fun we had.

Who ever said bus rides have to be boring!?! They've never been in Ms. Pitts' class. We had the best bus driver ever! He turned on Kids Bops for us to listen to on the way to the Fire Station and we of course sang all the way there. The bus ride was over before we knew it and was beyond awesome!

We finally arrived and the Hinesville Fire Station Tour began. We took a tour of the station. My students really like seeing where firefighters ate, slept, and relaxed before a fire call. They were full of questions. After touring the station, we got to check out the trucks. Each student even got to walk through the fire truck.

How about we even got to see the pole they take from the kitchen to get to the fire trucks in a hurry! My kiddos thought that was sooooo cool! I thought it was pretty cool too. I couldn't believe they still do that. :)

Well that wraps up our Hinesville Fire Station visit! We are so thankful that our local heroes took the time to visit with us! Our community involvement is out of sight! :)
 

Character Pumpkin, Crazy Hair Day, Red Ribbon Week...Oh My!!!

What a busy week we have had in 2nd grade at TCE. From trainings to all the festivities at school, this teacher was beyond busy.  Here are a few things that kept me on my toes this week:

Character Pumpkins
Each class had to create a class character pumpkin for the Fall Festival that was yesterday. Our class chose the book the Lorax. I have to say it came out beyond cute!

Each class in the school did a wonderful job. Some you wouldn't even think they were pumpkin! Here are some other class pumpkins that really catch your eye as well.

 

 

Crazy Hair Day
Our PBIS monthly reward for our school was Crazy Hair Day. Of course...I had to participate with my students. Everyone needs a blue wig. :)

Red Ribbon Week
Also, we celebrated Red Ribbon Week this week. What Fun! Saying "NO" to drugs was echoed throughout the school this week. On Friday, we even made a human chain pledging to never do drugs. The students loved the fact that out principal was the roof.

 

Well that wraps up our rather busy, fun week!

Until next time...

We Love Sparky the Fire Dog...and the Free App!

As we all know, Fire Prevention Month is in October. We had so much fun learning about Fire Prevention today. We started today's lesson by listening to Sparky's Birthday Surprise on the iPad.

 

Did I mention the app is FREE? Yes...FREE. Also, it comes with a story, music video, games, and much more! It is worth checking out. It had my students engaged the entire time. After the story and a few games on the iPad with Sparky, we started on our Fire Prevention worksheets. Made by Clever Classroom, these worksheets were adorable. Grab them up here.

Last, we even had a special guest today, a firefighter. My boyfriend is a firefighter so he came out and helped me today with my lesson. The kiddos were able to try on his gear and ask him questions about firefighting. They loved it! He even bought them goodies, hats and coloring books. Check out these awesome pictures! We had too much fun today!

We are truly fired up about learning!

What a day!

AR Party Time! We All Made Our Goal!

The deadline to make your Accelerated Reader goal for the 1st 9 weeks was at beginning of October. The class read their hearts out every opportunity they were given to reach their goal.

I was thrilled when deadline came and found out my ENTIRE class made their goal! YAY! We were all excited to go the Tie Dye Party. Each student got to make their own Tie Dye shirt. With different colors and patterns, they turned out really cute. Several people came out to volunteer including our awesome soldiers.

We are already reading our hearts out for the next AR party. 

I'm so proud of my kiddos! 

Peek at Last Week: Our 2nd Grade Program - Moon Madness

What fun we had getting ready for the 2nd grade program! Our program theme was spaced themed and my class' song was entitled "Moon Madness." We dressed us as monsters and I even got in on the action. Check out our pictures!

We had a spook-tacular time! 

Check out a clip from our 2nd Grade Music Program!

2nd Graders Researching with QR Codes: Magic School Bus Lost in Solar System

What fun we had with the 2nd Grade ELA CCGPS extended text, Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System.  With this book, we learned how to research and write a narrative.

Teaching 2nd graders how to research can be rather tiresome and boring for the students. However, my students love to research now due to some much welcomed use of QR codes. I began my lesson by teaching the 5 steps of researching:

1. Determine what you are researching
2. Determine where you will retrieve the facts
(Internet, Book, Encyclopedia)
3. Determine the key points you're looking for
4. Write facts down in your own words
5. Cite your sources

My students loved the fact that college students research all the time and they wanted to work like college students. They learned a new "college" word: Plagiarism. They were very careful to cite their sources in fear of plagiarism. They wanted to be just like college students. Too Cute!

One of our task in the 2nd grade ELA CCGPS was for the students to research all the planets, sun, moon, asteroids, and comets. After which, students must write a narrative about a trip to space they take with a friend and include facts about space within the narrative. If you think about it, that is a lot for the average 2nd grader. Therefore, I had to really think of a way to keep all students engaged during this CCGPS task.

QR Codes
I thought why not use QR codes. It was a hit. Not only for them but for me as well. When researching on internet, my major concern is the safety of the students first. With the use of QR codes, I didn't have to worry about where they going because I already knew. Before I started the unit, I did a little research of my own on all the planets. I made the class QR Code Research Flipbooks. Took me some time on a Saturday but it was well worth it. When it's time for the students to research, all they have to do is scan the QR code and it takes them to kid friendly planet site where they will retrieve all of their facts. Once their students write in their flip book the key facts about that planet. They loved it!

Here is a look at the QR Code Research Flipbook I made for them:

Here we are using our iPads to research using QR codes. They did an awesome job! 

After we completed our research, we started writing our narrative. Here is our writing prompt:

 In Magic School Bus Lost In the Solar System, the class went on a trip into space. Create a comic strip to assist in the telling of a trip into space Illustrations and dialogue should convey sequence of events and should display characters’ actions, thoughts and feelings.  Reference to moon and sun is required. Write a narrative to provide detailed explanation of events from comic strip.

Check out this out of this world narrative. Yes...that's 5 paragraphs! They all wrote 5 paragraphs. I am one proud 2nd grade writing teacher!

Here they are writing their narrative and making their comic strip. I've never designed a comic strip template and my kiddos loved making their comic strips. I was so excited with their finished product!!

 

 

They are doing a such a wonderful job writing! 

These 2nd graders rock!

Saturday Snapshots and Contraction Surgery

 

 

It's the weekend and I'm loving it!

 

This Saturday I am linking up with Miss Nelson from

 "Run! Miss Nelson's Got the Camera" for Saturday Snapshots.

Today I had the privilege to go to two of my kiddo's football games at the REC Department. They reminded me EVERY single day during school week of their game...LOL. I wasn't going to forget even if I tried. :) They are on different teams so I cheered for both. :) I enjoyed it so much. Touchdowns! Interceptions! I loved it! I was one proud teacher. I did get a chance to take a picture with one of my kiddos.

Also, I am linking up with Head Over Heels for Teaching for Spark Student Motivation Saturdays.

This is how I sparked student motivation this week in a 2nd grade classroom!

Check it out!

Contraction Surgery

We had so much fun this week learning about contractions! I went to our school nurse and borrowed a few items for my costume. Let's just say my kiddos loved this lesson! Each student performed contraction surgery and did a great job! Check out these awesome doctors!

 

Fact Swap

 

 



Fact Swap is an awesome game to play for review of weekly story test for my 2nd graders. It's a FREEBIE on TpT and worth getting for any subject. Click HERE to find the it. I use it for reading comprehension. It was my students first time playing the game and they loved it! To begin, each student writes three facts about our weekly story in the top three boxes. Then students walk around the classroom swapping facts. A student must give a fact in order to get one. At the end, each student should have 9 different facts!

Well that's a few tidbits about our week in 2nd grade!

Five for Friday: Must-Have Apps in a 2nd Grade Classroom

Yes! It's time for Five for Friday! Better late than never! :) I am linking up with Doodle Bugs Teachings to talk about 5 Apps that I absolutely love and are must-haves for any 2nd grade classroom.


1. Spelling City

This app is wonderful! I put in our weekly spelling and vocabulary words in SpellingCity. The students are able to use this App during language, early finisher activity, and at home. Being in game form, my students love this app! Here is a youtube video featuring great components of SpellingCity.

2. Tellagami

I love this App and as do my students! It is an app that creates and makes animated videos. They even get to make their own avatar. It is great tool to use for students to explain what they have learned and create stories for writing. Check out this youtube video of the Tellagami Project that involved Tech Savvy individuals from around the globe.

3. iDiary

iDiary is a great app for journaling. My students get so excited when it comes to writing if they get to use this App. They can even illustrate pictures within their iDiary. I use it for journaling and also as a ticket out the door to tell me what they learned through the lesson. Here is a youtube video of the great components of iDiary.

 4. iMovie

iMovie is wonderful app with so much potential for any grade level. Our school media specialist, Mrs. Peacock, taught my students today how to use iMovie. My 2nd graders loved it! iMovie is a user-friendly app that create movies. My kiddos want to make movies for everything now. We will definitely use this app for Media Festival Projects. Here is a youtube video on how to make a iMovie.

5. Socrative

Socrative is an app I just discovered this past week. It is a student response system for iPads, cell phones, iPods, laptops, and computers. It even emails you the student reports and saves in an excel spreadsheet. YAY! I can see how the use of this app has the potential of making a classroom paperless. Did I mention it grades the quizzes as well? Check out the youtube video to learn more. My favorite app of all by far!!

 

 

Well that's my 5 Must-Have Apps for a 2nd Grade Classroom!

Five for Friday!